Gas, water and electricity prices continue to rise

It seems that the average utility costs are slowly rising across the country, with more and more households having to pay a higher amount for energy.

And while newspaper headlines continue to talk about gas and electricity prices the cost of water may also have an impact on consumers.

The Adelaide Advertiser reports that water bills are set to rise by about $100 despite most people doing their best to cut back on wastage.

News of a price increase comes after the South Australian Council of Social Service (SACOSS) released the findings of its latest study into utility costs.

By SACOSS calculations the consumers should expect to pay between five and ten per cent more for water, with experts warning that an additional price hike may take place in 2013.

"In my mind, it's almost identical to the ETSA deal in all sorts of ways and, as far as we can tell, will deliver a completely unfounded windfall gain to SA Water and presumably the government," said SACOSS executive director Ross Womersley.

Privatisation policies introduced in the state may be one of the reasons why prices are rising, but a number of factors may be behind the rate increases.